


First Day

by LizAnn_5869



Series: Life, Or What Happens When You're Busy Making Other Plans [12]
Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Angst, Detectives Club reunited, F/M, Gen, Implied Drug Use, Police investigation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-05
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-05-18 09:16:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5921035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizAnn_5869/pseuds/LizAnn_5869
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two teenaged girls go missing in Broadchurch on the eve of Ellie's return to the CID.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: The Night Before

**Author's Note:**

> I am going so out of my comfort zone for this story. I've been wanting to write a mystery for our favorite detectives for a while now, but it is causing me some anxious moments. I hope I do it justice.

Ellie set the alarm by her bed for six, then reconsidered. She knew she'd have to make sure the boys were up and dressed and ready for school, that Alec would need a shower and so would she. The next morning would be chaotic and six o'clock just wouldn't be early enough. So she reset it for half-five. Then again, for five.

Really, she thought, I could set it for fifteen minutes from now and still wouldn't feel like I had enough time. 

Christmas and New Year were just now wonderful memories. She'd resigned her traffic job before Christmas and had a lovely break with her family, but it was back to reality.

Tomorrow she'd wake up early, put on the suit, and accompany Alec into work and take her place as DS Ellie Collins, for the first time since she walked out of the CID after Joe's arrest. Lucy had once asked her if she'd ever consider evwr going back to CID during that long dark period before Joe's plea. "When hell freezes over," was her firm answer.

Ironically, their little part of the coast was having its' most severe cold snap in fifty years. 

It would have been funny, if she hadn't been almost sick with anxiety. 

Alec was putting Fred to bed that night, sensing that Ellie needed some space to get her head in the game for tomorrow. She suspected he was also trying not to think about Daisy going home to Sandbrook. He'd intended to take her home, but instead her mother had shown up on their doorstep within a day of their return from Glasgow and announced that she was ready to take Daisy back home. Tess had smiled kindly and told them she knew they had to be exhausted from all that driving and she wanted to help them out. 

Alec and Ellie didn't believe her. Daisy had gone home, and as always the house felt like something was missing. 

So, Alec was busy occupying his mind with his little boy, and Ellie was trying to get organized for the next day. 

She pulled out gray trousers and a matching blazer, and then she searched for something warm to wear under it. She pulled out a gray and lavender argyle jumper, a dark green blouse, and a solid v-necked black jumper. She lay them on the bed and stared at them, utterly unable to make a decision. 

This did not bode well for the next day. What if, she thought, on a rising tide of panic, she really needed to think and make a decision and she was utterly unable to. What if it put someone's life on the line? What if....

There were so many "what ifs". What if she went back and they caught a call out for a crime that rivaled Joe's, not that much could rival that. 

What if her co-workers had no faith in her ability to be an investigator? She'd heard them whispering, she'd seen the stares, and the averted eyes of the people who couldn't quite make eye contact. 

She stared at the clothes, and realized she was shaking. She took a deep breath but it didn't help the way her skin crawled with panic. 

What if she just said sod it and didn't go back?

She took another breath, and another and surprisingly found that the panic was being replaced by anger. This was just something else she could lay at Joe's feet. She'd be damned if she'd let him take her confidence away. She made the decision that she simply would not let him have that power over her. She was stronger than that. When that thought crossed her mind, the shaking stopped and the tightness in her chest began to loosen.  
"Right then, Joe," she said aloud to the empty room, "go the hell away. You're not taking this from me."

The bedroom door creaked open and Alec came in and took in the scene. "Fred's out," he said. "What isn't Joe taking away?"

Ellie rolled her eyes. "You heard that part, then?"

"I came in and saw you staring daggers at some jumpers and telling Joe to get the hell away. Piqued my interest. I like the purple jumper." He sank down on the bed, looking up at her expectantly. 

"'S lavender." 

Alec rolled his eyes.

"Think it looks professional enough? Maybe it'd be good for a casual day, but not nice enough for....oh, I don't know."

"I think you'd look fine. I also think you'd not normally be invoking Joe's name over a clothing choice, so....everything all right?"

Ellie tried to keep her tone light but her eyes gave her away. "I had a bit of an anxiety attack but I'm better now."

Alec reached out and took her hand and pulled her to him. She say down on the bed. "Are you?"

She sighed. "I'm a hot mess," she finally concluded. "But I absolutely refuse to let that son of a bitch have any more power over me. He's done."

Alec nodded, and he leaned in to kiss her gently. "He is. When you walk in tomorrow, you're DS Collins, and you're brilliant. Got that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Don't call me that at home," he said with a small smile.

"Don't call me Collins at home," she answered.

"You know me with names. It'll be a toss-up what comes out of my mouth." 

Ellie chuckled. "And it'll be toss-up what comes out of mine when you do it. Keeps things exciting." She cupped his cheek, enjoying the feel of his scruff against her hand. "We can do this, right, Love?"

"Aye. We can." He sounded so sure of himself that she couldn't believe she'd ever entertained the thought of not going back. She reeled him in for a deeper kiss and for a while all worry was forgotten. 

Afterwards she laid there next to him, listening as his breathing evened out, feeling as though she was boneless and sinking comfortably into the mattress. Reluctantly they both got up, dressed for bed, and crawled back under the covers. Ellie was making a mental to-do list of tomorrow's routine. Alec checked the alarm and muttered, "Blimey, that's early."

"I need a little extra time to get up to speed before I deal with with you lot in the morning. I'll wake you up."

"Let's get to sleep before that thing goes off," he sighed. They curled up together and Ellie felt the tug of slumber nearly immediately. Earlier she had thought she'd wouldn't get any sleep. She was pleasantly surprised.

****

As it turned out, the alarm didn't wake them. It was Alec's phone blaring at 3:15 that jolted them both out of sleep. Alec grunted and grabbed the phone, his heart racing. He thought perhaps there'd be a correction from the pacemaker but none came, an improvement over the past. 

Ellie sat straight up and fumbled with the bedside lamp as Alec answered his phone.

"Hardy," he said, all business. Ellie was relieved it didn't seem to be an emergency with Daisy. She felt like her limbs were vibrating with the shock of the phone ringing.

He swore under his breath as he grabbed the notepad and pen he kept on his nightstand. "Right, then. I'll be in within the half hour, enough time's wasted. Get the team in. No bloody press." He sighed heavily and glanced at Ellie. Her eyes were as round as saucers, looking at him with something like horror. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be making her feel better any time soon. "Right. On the way."

Ellie watched as Alec disconnected the call. "What?" she asked as he got out of bed, pulling his t-shirt over his head. The raw anguish in his eyes made her breath catch.

"Two missing girls," Alec said gruffly. Ellie covered her mouth in shock. So it was as bad as she thought . She swung her legs over her side of the bed and switched off her alarm. 

"Who?" Ellie asked.

"Angela Hinchcliffe and Andrea Bradley," Alec answered. "Never came home yesterday."

"They're two years ahead of Tom. Beth and I went to school with Nora Hinchcliffe, her mum."

"Angela told her mum she was staying with Andrea..."

"Andrea told hers she was staying with Angela, right?"

"Aye. Nora last saw them as she was leaving for work Saturday night. She works third shift. Beyond that I have no details."

"How are we just now getting the call?" Ellie asked.

Alec shrugged. "We shall find out," he said grimly. Ellie could see the exhaustion in his eyes, just from running through the logistics in his head. "Right, then, we'd better get our arses in gear."

Ellie was going through the logistics for getting her own boys where they needed to be before she joined the investigation. She nodded, and he could see the pain in her eyes. "First bloody day back," she said shakily. 

"I know. I'm sorry," he said in a hushed voice. "We'd better get moving." He squeezed her hand. Ellie glanced at the clock. Not even four. She already felt like they'd been up for hours. It was going to be a very long day.


	2. Chapter One:  Ellie (Early Morning)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellie arrives at work on her first day back for the opening moments of the search for two missing teenagers.

Alec had showered and dressed and by the time Ellie finally got Lucy to answer the phone. "Lu, if it wasn't an emergency I wouldn't be callin', now would I? Alec and I have to go into work, and we have to go now.....save the lecture about my career and get your arse in gear if you're comin'. And thank you, by the way." She was already divesting herself of her pajamas as she rang off. Alec came back into the bedroom and knocked on the bathroom door. "Can you be ready here soon?"

"I just called Lucy and told her to get over here to help with the kids. I can be ready in thirty." she said, starting the shower. There was a long pause. She got the feeling that if Alec wasn't physically banging his head against the door in frustration yet he was at least thinking about it. "I'm doin' the best I can, Alec!"

Alec opened the door and stuck his head in. "Didn't say you weren't, did I?" He sighed, trying to calm down. "I'm going in. You follow me when you can. Briefing in 30, just do your best. Sorry....if there's a chance we can get these girls back alive...."

The shower shut off. Ellie poked her head around the curtain, her face solemn. "I know, love." Alec gave her a small smile and nodded. He ducked out then and was gone. She heard the bedroom door close. Ellie leaned against the shower wall, gathering strength for the rest of the day. She knew it would likely be the last quiet moment for a while.

*****

After she put on the lavender and gray jumper and trousers, she impatiently texted Lucy and got no answer. "Bloody outstanding," she said aloud. "My ability to get to work rests on Lucy of all the bloody people...." She realized she'd have to wake Tom, and she hated that. She felt even worse when it occurred to her that she'd at least have to give him a little information about what happened. It would be all over the school. 

She mounted the steps to Tom's attic room slowly at first, then with a bit more urgency, texting Lucy again. Tom was sound asleep still. She shook him gently and he grunted sleepily and opened glassy eyes. "Tom, sweetie, there's been an emergency and..."

"Alec?"

"Oh, no, love, it's at work. A couple of missing people. We have to go in. Lucy is coming to get you off to school."

"Do I know them?" Tom asked in a gravelly voice. It took Ellie aback at how deep his voice was getting. 

"You might. They go to your old school.... I need to go, honey. Fred won't be up, so you should be fine. You'll have to let Lucy in, though."

Groaning, Tom sat up, glancing at the clock. "Blimey." He rubbed his eyes and followed his mum, resigned. 

When Tom was settled on the sofa under the tartan blanket, Ellie grabbed her coat and texted Lucy again. Her phone rang immediately.

"Bloody hell, El, I'm on the way!" Lucy said by way of greeting.

"You weren't responding! I have to go. Tom will let you in. Fred needs to be at Miss Patti's by half seven."

"What's going on?"

"I can't go into it just yet," Ellie said, the unspoken implication that Lucy would let it slip to Olly hung in the silence between them. "Gotta go, thanks, Lu." She rang off and kissed the top of Tom's head. "Love you more than chocolate," she said, grateful that she knew where her children were. 

"You'll find 'em," Tom said, and she was touched by his confidence.

"We might be late. 'Bye. Aunt Lucy is on the way." With a heavy feeling of guilt in her heart, she left her older son in charge of her younger and headed off to work.

*****

The briefing had started by the time Ellie parked and dashed up the stairs, being too impatient to wait for the lift. She burst in as Hardy was just beginning to command the troops. Of course, heads swiveled and all eyes were on her as she took her place in the back of the room. She wanted to sink into the ground. Instead, she put on a smile and gave a little awkward wave. To Hardy's credit he did not roll his eyes. 

"Right then, the two girls are Angela Rae Hinchcliffe and Andrea Elise Bradley, both sixteen. Their mothers, Nora Hinchcliffe and Elisabeth Bradley, reported them missing two hours ago. Apparently each girl told her mother that she'd be staying at the other's house. They left the Hinchcliffe flat at six Saturday evening. Nora was called in early to work soon after, and she hasn't seen them since." He let that sink in, and he heard the mutterings. They realized what they were up against now. "We got the missing persons report an hour ago. Nora slept until half four yesterday afternoon and Elisabeth and her older children were off in Weymouth shopping for the day. Elisabeth didn't get home until seven. She called Nora, and that's when they determined that the girls were missing."

Ellie was stunned. So much time wasted between the initial discovery and now. Hardy was outlining the timeline in a white board. "So, the question was brought up, why the gap between then and now. They said they were calling friends. When that didn't pan out they got in touch with Elisabeth's ex-husband in London. Angela Hinchcliffe's father has never been in the picture, so no one to contact there. Apparently a great deal of time was taken up in the back and forth bickering between Elisabeth and her ex. He's on his way." 

Ellie watched him begin to pace back and forth in front of the whiteboard. "As far as we know the disappearance could have occurred anywhere after they left the Hinchcliffe flat. I want the CCTV from there. Did they meet someone on the way? There's at least two cameras in the vicinity. Get the videos from those. We're also getting the cell phone records for Andrea's and Angela's phones. The location services were turned off on Andrea's so we can't use the GPS to track it. We do know it's a bright orange iPhone 5c in a pink Otter Box case."

A DS Ellie wasn't familiar with raised his hand. 

Hardy nodded at him. "Graham, what?"

"This past Saturday, when you were gone, there was a call out to a house party in a foreclosed home not that far from the Hinchcliffes. There were about twenty kids there, most of them drinkin'. We cleared the house and the girls weren't there. But that was at half nine when we broke that up. They had between six and nine to be seen, possibly. Maybe someone knows where they went after they left." 

"I want to see the report on that, any one of those people could have seen them, if that's where they went. Mostly kids then, you say?" Hardy asked.

Graham answered, "We brought a fair few adults."

"That'll be yours then, find out if they remember the girls being there. If we can just get some sightings, then maybe we narrow the search to this area. We need to check out the runaway possibility, so we'll need CCTV from the train, the bus.... Did they decide to run off? Go to London? Did they hitch a ride? It would have been nice if Andrea's dad had stayed in London if they showed up there." He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "We'll also have to monitor any reports of Jane Does found." Hardy's eyes scanned the back of the room. "Collins," he began.

Ellie didn't know whether to be disgruntled that she was apparently going by her surname at work again or pleased that he called her by the right one. She settled for looking attentive. He continued, "You're to further interview the mothers. Get a sense of who the girls know, firm up the timeline, whatever you can get."  
Ellie nodded. "We'll be calling a press conference in a half hour to get pictures and names out there. But in the meantime...no press. Nothing. Radio silence. No bloody Twitter." He stared them all down. They already knew his position on social media. "We need to get out there, because we still have a chance to get them back alive." He didn't have to tell them that the window of opportunity dwindled with each passing minute. I need the CCTV analysis within the hour," he reminded them. "Let's get at it."

The group began to break up. Hardy called a small group of DC's together to prepare them to canvass the neighborhoods around the flat. He looked at the clock. Almost five. "Nearly 35 hours missing. Jesus. It doesn't look promising," he muttered quietly to Ellie when she stopped by him on he way out.

Ellie wanted to hug him, to reassure him, but the professional walls were up. That would have to wait until it was Alec and Ellie home alone. She knew they wouldn't get to that stage until there was some sort of resolution. She fervently hoped that they wouldn't be consoling each other over the loss of these girls. 

Ellie settled for squeezing his arm as she made her way out to interview the mothers. "They're both at their own homes. We don't want to interview the mothers together, anyway," Alec said, the unspoken warning not to trust either one of them hung in the air. "There's a victim support officer with each of them. Take Sheridan with you. Wish I could go, but..." 

"I'll get back to you as soon as I can," she said, squeezing his arm again. He raised a hand to pat hers. It was a small gesture but it meant so much. Ellie hurried back out the way she'd come in. 

******  
Nora Hinchcliffe's flat was across from the arcade in a small cinder lock building. Ellie knew that Nora had always struggled. She had been a young mum, with little or no support at all from her parents, who wrote her off when she got pregnant. Angela's father had taken off for the states and she'd not heard from him since. She had nearly put Angela up for adoption but couldn't go through with it once she saw the ultrasound scan. She'd made her way the best she could, and now Ellie's heart broke for her. 

She knocked on the door and the victim's support officer, Kellan, opened it for her. "Welcome back, Ellie," he said ruefully. "She's in there." Ellie could smell the cigarette smoke before she even entered. From the looks of the ashtray in front of Nora Hinchcliffe, she'd been there chain-smoking for quite a while. 

"Ellie," Nora said as she came in. "I..." Nora began to speak but the relief of seeing Ellie walk in overwhelmed her and her voice broke. Once again, Ellie found herself in the position of having to question someone who looked to her for comfort. Ellie sat down across the table from her and squeezed her hand. 

"'S okay. Take your time," she said.

"We don't have any time," she scoffed through tears. "Who's she?"

"DS Stephanie Sheridan," Sheridan said, extending her hand. Nora shook it politely. She looked up at both of them, her eyes red and puffy.

"Have you heard anything?" Nora asked.

"No. I'm sorry, I wish I had news for you, Nora. What can you tell me about when you saw the girls last?"

"I had to get to the factory early and Angie and Andy were here. Angie asked if she could sleep over at Andy's and they were planning to walk. I couldn't help get them there, I don't even have a car. I wish I had one, I would have driven them over there and both of them would have been busted for lying and not...." Her voice broke. "They were just bein' kids. Gettin' up to shenanigans and they had no ideas what they were getting into."

"Do you have any ideas what they were getting up to, Nora? Do they typically get into trouble?" Ellie asked.

"Andy Bradley is the queen bee of that little group, Ellie. I know her older sister and brother have bought the pair of them alcohol. Angie told me that before she started getting secretive."

"She's keeping things from you?"

"She used to talk to me all the time. Angie and me were best mates, we were, then she started hanging around with Andy." Nora stopped and lit another cigarette. "Nothin' was good enough anymore. Oh, we went round and round about her wanting a smartphone like Andy's, instead of her little phone. She always wants what Andy has..... Anyways, Ellie, I found Angie's charger in her room. She can't be bothered to remember it. So her phone's likely run down by now." Nora gasped and began crying again.  
"Will you find her, Ellie? Or is it too late? My daughter's dead, isn't she? It's been too long."

Nora began sobbing, and Ellie got up to kneel in front of her chair to look her in the eye. "I will do my best to make sure she comes home to you. If you think of anything, anything at all, even if it seems trivial, tell us. We need to know. Did she keep a journal?"

"'S far as I know, she didn't keep no journal."

"Can we see her room, then?" Stephanie asked. Nora looked at her like she'd forgotten she was there.

"It's a disaster in there, good luck," Nora said, pointing the way.

It was a disaster. The closet door stood open, a pile of dirty laundry in the floor. Angela had a messy desk with a cork board hanging on the wall over it. "I don't nag her about the room too much, 'cause she's so good about cleanin' the rest of the flat," Nora said.

Stephanie went to the desk while Ellie gazed at the clothes hanging in the narrow closet. "What was she wearing Saturday night?" Ellie asked.

"She had on jeans and a mint green jumper she got for Christmas. Brown boots, I think. Her coat's black wool with a hood."

"What did she have with her when she left?" Ellie asked.

"Her little rucksack, the one she takes when she sleeps over somewhere. It's smaller than her school one."

Ellie looked at the closet again. There were very few empty hangers. It didn't look like the closet of someone who planned to run away. 

Stephanie was looking at pictures tucked into the frame of the corkboard. A couple were of Angie and Andy together, one in school uniforms, and another in regular clothes. Andy's clothes looked expensive. "I think that dress is what Andy was wearing," Nora supplied. It was short and black and worn with a colorful scarf and tights and boots. Ellie joined Stephanie at the desk and couldn't help thinking how cold Andy would be in that outfit. 

"Who's this?" Stephanie asked, indicating a snapshot of a older boy, with shaggy sandy brown hair and a light beard. "Andy's brother?" 

"No, no that's not Harry. I don't know him. She never mentioned him. She never talks anymore."

Stephanie took the picture out of the frame. "Did she mention that she was seeing anyone?" she asked. She flipped the picture over, but all that was written was "DS, 2015".

"Look at the background. 'S the arcade," Ellie pointed out "He's wearin' an employee uniform. They don't open till noon today. We need to call that manager in. I'll need to take this."

"She never mentioned a special boy. Did she run off with him?" Nora asked, appalled.

"We have to look at everything, Nora,". Ellie said.

Ellie's phone buzzed with a text. It was Burton, alerting her to the press conference. Ellie asked to turn the tv on, and together they saw Alec Hardy, surrounded by cameras and reporters, announcing that two girls had gone missing in Broadchurch. "The girls are Angela Rae Hinchcliffe, aged fifteen and Andrea Elise Bradley, aged sixteen, from Broadchurch. Both girls were last seen together Saturday night around six pm by Angela's mother. School pictures of Angela and Andrea were shown and Nora began to cry audibly again. 

Ellie was torn. She wanted nothing more than to comfort this mother, but time was wasting. On the screen Alec was telling viewers that time was if the essence since both girls could be in danger. Any and all tips were welcomed. She spoke briefly to Kellan and then spoke to Nora again, "We have to continue the investigation, Nora. You have my number, please call if anything new comes up." Nora's pleading eyes nearly broke her. "I promise we are doing everything we can." And with that, Ellie and Stephanie left the flat. 

Ellie took some deep breaths. Nothing seemed off about Nora, nothing that made alarm bells go off. She was a shattered, worried mum. Stephanie reinforced this opinion by commenting, "I don't think she had anything to do with it, do you?"

"I'm inclined to say no, but I can't until her manager at work confirms she was there," Ellie said. "But no, my gut says she didn't." She sighed as they walked to the car. Her head was pounding and she realized she hadn't eaten. So much for behaviors I intended to change once I got back to work, she thought. "You have any paracetamol on you, Steph?" Ellie sighed. Stephanie dug some out of her bag and Ellie dry-swallowed it, mentally threatening the pills to start working.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At first I thought this would be simple- four chapters. The first chapter got quite unwieldy and became three chapters. So, I'm not saying how many there will be, because I'm not even sure!


	3. Chapter Two:   Alec (Early Morning)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec gets some information about the girls' activity the night they vanished and is confronted by an unwanted visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the long wait. I plan to get the next couple of chapters out faster, hopefully.

Hardy watched Ellie walk out the door, wishing that they'd find an easy answer for all this but knowing it wasn't likely. He settled in for a long day.

The first priority was getting the word out, and controlling the information that was already out there. 

He was on his way to get his thoughts together for the conference when Graham intercepted him. "We have visual on the girls, " Graham announced. He had learned well that it was best to get straight to the point with Hardy. "We have the video pulled, and you can see them."

Hardy answered , "Right then. Let's see this video." Graham indicated his computer.

A few other officers gathered around as Graham started the video. "The camera is just down the road from the flat, right by the arcade." 

Two girls, huddled in winter coats, were seen hurrying down the street in the direction of the arcade. "So they went to the arcade, then?" Hardy speculated. 

"They're not there for long, you can see. Time elapsed, about five minutes. Here they are again. They walk up the street, and turn left. Now, the party house is just a bit up the road from there."

"So close to Angela's flat," Hardy commented. "What happened at the party?"

"We received a call out around 8:30. Some neighbors were complaining that a large group was having a house party on Hill Cliff Road, in a foreclosed house. We broke up the party at nine. They had lanterns for light and it was freezin' cold. There was a mix of adults and teens wirh alcohol involved." Graham shook his head. "It could have been a disaster if one of those lanterns got knocked over. Anyway, there was a flurry of activity, to put it mildly. Several kids were detained, as well as adults. But Andrea and Angela could have evaded us. We didn't see either girl there." 

"So....we're speculating that between roughly half six and nine they were at this party. Do you have names of people to contact to find out if they were there?"

"We took some children home, so yeah, we do."

"Start calling," Hardy said. "We don't have time to wait around for information to come to us."

Graham nodded. He picked up the file folder on his desk and began looking for phone numbers. 

Hardy was distracted by Burton, who approached him. Her expression was one of anxious disgust. He knew he would not like what she had to say.

"What?" Hardy barked.

"Steve Connolly," Burton said. "He wants to talk to you."

Hardy grimaced. "Unless he's seen the girls on this actual plane and not the astral plane, I really don't want to waste my time. I'm going out with SOCO to see the house party site after the conference. What's the status on that?" 

"We're good to go in fifteen, if you are," Burton answered. "And I'll let Connolly know you're not available."

"That's a bloody nice way of putting it," he said.

"That's my job, sir," she said with a smirk and went back to her desk. 

Hardy sighed and headed back to his office, passing Ellie's desk on the way. As far as he knew, she hadn't been near it since she came in that morning. It was tidy, save for her computer, the nameplate reading DS Eleanor Collins and a stack of "welcome back" cards with a box of chocolates. His lips turned up in a small smile. She really had no idea how much people had missed her. And none of them missed her at work more than him. 

On his own desk rested two school pictures. One was of a blonde with curly hair wearing a blue plaid western style shirt. The other had stylishly flat ironed brunette hair and expensive clothes. Her makeup was carefully done, while the other girl's was applied with a heavier hand. They were both beautiful. Looking at them made him miss Daisy even more. He glanced at the framed picture on his desk of Daisy with the boys. He hoped she was safe and happy that morning. 

Alec hadn't dreamed of Pippa in a while. He had a feeling these two would be joining her in a nightmare tonight, depending on the outcome. He looked up from his desk to see Burton peeking in. She told him that the press conference was ready to begin. He picked up the pictures and made his way out.

*****

Hardy made his appeal for information, and the pictures were shown. He had just dispatched SOCO to the house party site and was planning to follow them when Graham approached him. "Nige Carter and some others are taking it upon themselves to form a search party. Just got the call. Beth Latimer, it was. She thought we should know," Graham announced without preamble. 

"Out-bloody-standing," Hardy growled. "Seriously." He was torn between the need to throttle Nige for getting in the way and the need to have extra people out there looking. "Monitor the situation. We've asked the public to keep an eye out anyway. He just needs to stay out of my way." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Bloody hell," he muttered to Graham.

Graham shook his head incredulously but conceded, "We may need the extra eyes."

Two visitors arrived in the CID floor as Hardy grabbed his coat. He watched through the office window as they talked to Burton, who indicated in his direction. 

As it turned out, some information had come to them in the form of a young girl, around Daisy's age, accompanied by her mother. The mother looked fiercely angry at her daughter, and her daughter looked cowed. He saw Burton leave the desk and he went out to meet her.

"They saw the conference and might have some information. The girl was at the party, and from the look on Mum's face, I would not want to be that girl right now." 

Hardy looked over at the teen, who was pinned by her mother's angry glare. He followed Burton to them.

"Well, tell him," she prompted by way of greeting.

"My name's Lily Smith. I was at the party Saturday night...." Her mother made a scoffing sound. She looked nervously at her hawk-eyed mother and went on. "I saw Angie and Andy there. Andy was goin' crazy because she lost her phone somewhere. She thought her mum was gonna be pissed at her. Then later I saw them talking to a bloke I think works at the arcade."

"Did you recognize the bloke?"

"I've seen him at the arcade but I don't know his name. Angie has a thing for him, though."

"Do you know if Andy ever found her phone?" Hardy asked. 

"No," Lily replied. "Right before the coppers showed up, she was still on about it. Then it got a little....crazy and I lost track of them. Anyways.... I don't know if she ever found her phone." 

"But they were definitely at the party until nine."

"Yeah," Lily said, and her mother stared daggers at her. "Yes sir," Lily amended. 

"Did you see them talking to anyone else besides the bloke from the arcade?" Hardy asked. 

"They were just....talkin'. Andy flirts with all the blokes, Angie's shyer. I think Angie was expectin' that bloke she likes to show up." Lily turned to her mother, exasperated. "I'm not exactly sure how any of this helps," she hissed.

"Something good better come of this mess, Lily," her mother said.

"You're sure you didn't see them again the rest of the night, then?" Hardy asked.

"No, I didn't! Some people went out the back, some went down to the basement and out that door. I don't know where she went!" Lily was starting to get more agitated as she went on, and it only served to make her mother angrier. 

"Thank you for the information," Hardy interjected, not wanting to get into the domestic apparently about to unfold. "Every wee bit counts." 

"Can you think of anything else he needs to know? Were they drinking? Drugging?" her mother asked. Hardy wondered if this woman had ever considered a career in law enforcement. 

Lily looked appalled. "They were drinking. That's all I know!"

"Thanks. If you think of anything else just call. No matter how trivial," Hardy said. They left, Lily's mother continuing to berate her daughter, who was accepting it silently as her penance for getting up to mischief Saturday. 

There was a commotion at the front desk and Hardy turned to see that Burton had dug her heels in and was refusing to let Steve Connolly pass. An impressive combination of curses went through Hardy's head. He stalked over to them. 

"Hardy needs to hear this," Connolly asserted.

"I need you to get the hell out. You are in my way. Unless your spirit guide told you a pretty fucking specific location," he practically spat the words, so disgusted was he, "then go. Burton, if you need to get some help escorting him out, do so. Go find another crisis to exploit," Hardy growled. He turned to leave but Connolly got in the last word.

"They're cold." 

Hardy whipped back around to face him. "It's below freezing. So are we all."

"My spirit guide told me that they are cold and they are sleeping."

Hardy didn't want to admit Connolly's words chilled him. "Unless you saw a specific location, get out of my sight. You're only here to insert yourself in a situation where you have no business being. You are wasting valuable time, get out!"

Burton made to escort Connolly toward the door. He had one last thing today, however. "You're the one wasting time refuting me. You need to listen. They're cold, and they are close by. Don't look far away. They didn't run." 

"Do you know them personally? Do you know that for a fact?" Hardy questioned, with emphasis on "fact."

"My spirit guide sent me dreams, Hardy. Very lucid dreams about many things, and I didn't put it together until I saw you on television this morning."

"I'm done," Hardy growled, turning away to leave, gesturing to a DC named Howell, who was trying hard not to appear to listening in. "Help Burton escort him out." Howell, too anxious not to obey, hurried over immediately.

"You need to listen to me. You didn't listen with Danny, but you need to listen now. They are sleeping." 

"Get him the hell out of here!" His phone buzzed at the same moment Howell and Burton escorted Connolly away, and Hardy answered it tersely without looking at the caller ID. "What?" he growled.

Ellie's voice greeted him. "Well, hello to you, too," she said mildly. "Some things never change."

"What?" He repeated, calming. It was nearly a physical relief to hear her voice. 

"There may be a bloke involved. Angela had a picture in her room of an older boy Nora didn't know. He works, or worked at the arcade. I've put a call in to the manager to see if we can get an ID. I'm heading to Elisabeth's now."

"That corroborates a witness who saw them at that house party. She mentioned that Angela was waiting to see someone she thought worked at the arcade. And Andrea lost her phone at some point that night, according to the girl. Keep an eye out for that."

"So even if we could track it...." Ellie trailed off with a sigh. "Anyway, off to Elisabeth's. I'll be in touch. Did something happen there?"

"We can talk about it later. Connolly came by to insert himself into the crisis." Graham caught his attention and he said, "I've got to go. If the girls haven't been found by noon, we're going to gather back here for a briefing." He looked at the clock and was shocked to see was it barely past six. 

"Right then, I'll see you. Don't get worked up over Connolly," Ellie said.

"What makes you think I did?" 

He heard Ellie snort laughter. She rang off with a whispered "love you." 

Graham joined him. "The SOCO team is going through the party house but as of yet, no need. No news is good news I suppose."

"Tell Brian to keep an eye out for Andrea Bradley's phone. She lost it that night. There could be pictures or texts archived. I'm on my way to see the house for myself. You'll come with me." 

"Right, then, ready whenever you are," Graham confirmed. 

Burton had returned. "Get rid of him?"

"Howell escorted him to the sidewalk," she said. "He was going on about it all the way down but nothing specific. Creeped me out. I mean, you don't reckon..."

"Ignore him. And instruct the desk downstairs to keep him the fuck out. You can quote me," Hardy said, shrugging on his heavy coat. 

"With pleasure," Burton replied. 

*****  
The sun was finally weakly shining when Graham and Hardy exited the building ten minutes later. As the blustery wind stole their breath, Graham mumbled that it was "cold enough the freeze the balls off a brass monkey." 

As they approached the car, a voice called out to them. Apparently Connolly wasn't finished after all. "Hardy, you're making a horrible error. You wouldn't listen with Danny, don't make that same mistake again. The spirit guide speaks the truth!"

Hardy put up a hand to stop him mid- sentence. "Stop. Danny was beyond our help. These girls might not be and time is wasting! I will ask one last time. Do you have a specific location? A fact I can work with? No? Then go!" He turned his back to Connolly, opening the car door. 

"Hardy, I dreamed about you, too."

Hardy went to get in, biting back the snide response on his tongue. This was not the time. 

"You better get your own house in order, Hardy. Her mother lied and the secrets are putting her life in danger." 

Hardy spun around to glare at him. "Get in, Graham. No time for distractions. Let's go." With that he got in the car, and Graham started the engine. 

"What the hell's he on about?" Graham asked, putting the car in gear. 

Hardy growled, "I don't need someone with a supposed 'sixth sense' telling me that the girls are in danger. We suspected that already. Disregard him. We need to focus." Hardy glanced at the side mirror. Connolly stood on the sidewalk, staring at them. Hardy filed his final words away to worry about later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gave me so many fits. I have been working on it on and off for days now and I finally think it's how I want it to be, more or less.


	4. Chapter Three- Out in the Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The detectives find out more about the missing girls and the people with whom they associate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many, many apologies for this taking a month. I fought this chapter hard. In the meantime I got distracted traveling time and space with Rose and the Doctor. I haven't abandoned this, and I won't.

Sheridan was pulling into the driveway of a large home with a beachfront view as Ellie was ending her call with Alec. She was taking advantage of having Sheridan drive since she had always been Alec's chauffeur for their investigations.

"Love you," Ellie whispered and rang off. 

Ellie was getting ready to speak when she noticed Sheridan had a small smile. She must have caught the end of the conversation. She winced a bit. "Well, I'll have to mind that," she murmured. Everybody knew that she and Hardy were together, that was a given. But she couldn't give the impression that their home life bled over into their work life. She didn't want anyone to think he was favoring her. 

"'S good that he has you," Sheridan said quietly. "Hated him at first when I started working in Broadchurch, then I thought if I was gonna stay I'd better find something I liked about him." Ellie couldn't help smiling at that. "I decided it was you I liked first! You've made him tolerable. And that's the last I'll mention it."

Ellie couldn't help but snort laughter at that. They got out of the car and made their way to the door. "Do you know the Bradleys at all?" Sheridan asked.

"No. They're new to Broadchurch and since Tom goes to a different school, I've never met them through that. I've known Nora all my life." Ellie knocked on the door. Clearly Angela and Andrea came from opposite ends of the financial spectrum. The house was large, the kind most people booked for seaside holidays with large families. The door opened after a bit, answered by a tall boy with fashionably shaggy brown hair. "Hello, I'm DS M...Collins," Ellie introduced herself, inwardly wincing that she almost said Miller. Old habits died hard, even after a long break. Sheridan introduced herself as well.

"Did you find her?" the boy asked flatly. 

"Are you Harry? No, I'm afraid we haven't," Ellie said. "We're collecting information about the girls' disappearance." 

"Spinning your wheels, most likely," Harry muttered rudely. 

"Harry," a woman said sharply. She was followed by a young woman of about twenty. Elisabeth Bradley and her daughter approached Ellie and Sheridan. 

"Ellie Collins, Stephanie Sheridan. We're gathering information and we have some leads, but we want to see if there's any more you can share to solidify a timeline."

Elisabeth led them into a lovely sitting room. It was obviously professionally decorated. Ellie never would have thought to put those furniture pieces and patterns together. Which was why she was a copper and not a interior designer. Ellie was more likely to throw some bright paint on a wall and call it a day. Photos on the mantle showed three attractive children. The oldest, Harry, apparently skied, and gymnastics pictures of middle child Brooke and Andrea were displayed next to their trophies. 

Elisabeth Bradley was just as well put together, lovely clothes, a light touch with makeup. She didn't look any less shattered than Nora, though. She and her daughter Brooke both had red, puffy eyes that makeup couldn't conceal. Harry was harder to read. Ellie thought he was demonstrating protectiveness towards his mother and sister but she couldn't be sure.

"From witness accounts and CCTV, we can show that they went to the arcade right after they left Angela's flat. They stayed about ten minutes, then made their way to the road. They were seen after that at a house where a party was going on. Somewhere along the way, she lost her phone. Have you come across that here, by any chance?"

"We were in Weymouth shopping, then we went out to eat and Harry met some friends. We didn't get home until at a few hours ago. We didn't know to look for it," Elisabeth replied.

"We just found out ourselves. We're trying to eliminate possible places the phone could be," Sheridan answered.

Brooke spoke up. "If she lost her phone in the house she'd still be here looking for it. No possible way she'd leave the house without it. She'd sooner leave without shoes. I saw her charger was gone, so she had it when she left here."

"She took her charger, so did she take anything else that would indicate that she was intending to be gone a long time?" Ellie asked. It was her gut instinct that the girls hadn't run away, but she had to be sure.

"Her clothes are there. I didn't see anything amiss. But she has clothes in London. My ex-husband decided to stay there in case they show up there after all. They still could, couldn't they?" Elisabeth looked at Ellie and Stephanie hopefully.

"Anything is possible," Ellie said, her heart going out to Elisabeth, despite her resolve not to trust. Brooke was crying again.

"Don't give her false hope," Harry muttered. Brooke began to sob on her mother's shoulder. 

"We're investigating all possibilities,". Ellie said. "There was some speculation that they were there to meet a boy." Ellie produced the picture from Angela's room. It was met with blank looks from Brooke and Elisabeth but Harry's eyes widened a bit. "We found this in Angela's room."

"Do you recognize him, Harry?" Ellie asked.

"He works at the arcade," Harry said, and his cautious tone made Ellie and Stephanie exchange a look. 

Ellie asked, "Do you know his name? It says D.S. on the back. I suspect those are his initials. Am I right?"

Harry was having an internal argument, that was clear to see. "If it involves your sister's life, and Angela's, you will answer her immediately," Elisabeth ordered. She stood up. He stood a full head taller than his mother, but Harry Bradley was cowed by the fierce look she gave him. 

"I don't know his name for sure, Mum, and that's the God's honest truth. I think I've heard him called Dave or Dale or something, and I know he works at the arcade. I've also heard from some on my rugby team that he sells drugs. I did not know that Andy knew him."

"Did you get anything from him, Harry?" Elisabeth asked flatly. 

"No! No, Mum! You know I don't...." He paused, shifting his eyes to Ellie and Stephanie. "I don't do that any more. I stopped. I never had a problem to begin with."

"That's your opinion. You took them and you made it my problem. And it's also why we live in Broadchurch now. For god's sake, Harry, that's why we got out of London! We can't go anywhere, it seems."

"Mum, you have my word that I didn't get anything from him. Nothing. I'm not doing that again. Please, let's focus on Andy. This isn't getting us anywhere!" Harry and Elisabeth were toe to toe now and Brooke appeared even more shattered. 

"Harry, have you heard what he sells? Do you know anything about that?" Ellie asked.

"I didn't buy anything!" Harry roared.

"Enough, just answer the damn question!" Brooke interjected, equally fierce. Her outburst was the verbal slap that Harry needed to get back on track. 

"I'm sorry, I..." Harry began, chastened.

Ellie said calmly, "We're not suggesting you did buy anything, Harry. We just need to know what we're dealing with. It may save your sister and Angela." 

"Prescription stuff, I heard. The ADHD drug. I don't know of anything else." 

"And the girls were spending time with this person?" Elisabeth asked, distraught. 

"I didn't know, Mum, or I would have warned her!" Harry yelled. "What about you, Brooke, she talked to you more?"

Sensing a battle was about to begin, Ellie interjected, "I'd like to check Andy's room. We found this picture in Angela's room. If there's a chance we could find something to help in there...."

"Of course," Elisabeth said, indicating they should follow, leaving Brooke and Harry. Sheridan lingered behind. 

Elisabeth led Ellie to a bedroom in the back of the house. It was spacious and decorated in bright pink and yellow, and much neater than Angela's. An iPod and a Kindle rested on the bedside table. "Does it look like she intended to be gone a long while?" Ellie asked. 

"Not at all. She has clothes in London, as I said, at her father's."  
She covered her face in her hands, and Ellie watched her, waiting to see if she'd go on. Finally, Elisabeth said with a moan, "She's not run away to London, though, has she? She'd be there by now. She'd go straight to her father and he would call me immediately. This is why we moved here, because it was safe. No more secrets. How did I go on for so long not knowing what was going on under my own roof?"

The question was like a stab to Ellie's heart. The Bradleys had moved there after Danny, after Joe, and she wasn't sure how aware of her history Elisabeth was. She thought it was likely Elisabeth knew something of it with all the press coverage at the time, as well as Joe's Halloween reappearance.

The look of sorrow in Elisabeth's eyes told Ellie that she meant nothing by it, and there were so many things Ellie wanted to say to her, knowing well that it likely wouldn't help. Nothing anyone said, save for Alec, really did help her. And she didn't even realize how he'd helped her until much later.

"Ms. Bradley, " Ellie began.

"Call me Elisabeth. You've seen us at our worst, you might as well."

Ellie smiled. "Elisabeth, believe me when I say it happens."

"I know you do, and I'm wasting time. I'll show you anything you need. And I've decided I'm going to concentrate on seeing her again. And how grounded she will be. How utterly locked down." Elisabeth wiped her eyes and steely determination replaced the sorrow. Ellie thought that possibly, in other circumstances she'd be friends with this woman.

*****

Hardy left his car in the car park at the arcade. He wanted to walk the route he suspected the girls had taken. He walked from the car park to the door, a walk he'd taken multiple times with Daisy and Tom swinging Fred between them. This time he scanned the ground as he walked. The frigid air hurt to breathe. Weak, cold sunlight was just beginning to shine. He thought of the girls and hoped they were warm. He hated to admit it, but Connolly's words, however ridiculous they were, had struck a nerve. 

The arcade was dark and silent. It wouldn't open for hours. He looked up at the CCTV camera and walked away in a direction that took him in roughly the same trajectory as Angela and Andrea. He followed the road in the freezing wind, scanning the small houses along the way. SOCO was parked in front of a house four down from the back of the arcade. 

The houses were run down. A few were still decorated for Christmas and showed some care, but the one SOCO searched was boarded up. Bloody hell, he thought. This was an indicator of a big problem in the town. He couldn't recall anything like this party in an abandoned house. There'd been drinking at the shacks on the ridge and parties on the beach. Lots of mischief in a small town. But this had a more threatening undertone to it. This had been a disaster waiting to happen. He pictured that house engulfed in flames from broken lanterns, people trapped, and it nearly made him ill just from the thought of it. He shuddered and his phone buzzing focused his attention again. It was a text from Ellie. Of course, she'd be getting him back on track. Doesn't even know it, he thought. 

The text read, "Phil Brandt from the arcade can be there within the hour. I'm still at the Bradley house."

He texted back, "I'm at the house party site. I can talk to him. Text me a snapshot of that picture you have."

"On it," was the reply. The photo came a few seconds later. He scanned the picture of the older boy, who was scruffy and a bit arrogant looking. The photo quality wasn't the best, since it was a photo of a photo, but it would do. He texted his thanks back. She texted a smiley face. He rolled his eyes but couldn't stop a small smile of his own. He sobered at the sight of Brian coming out of the house, suited and booted for evidence collection.

"Anything to report?" Hardy asked.

"It's a mess in there. Found residue of cocaine in the loo, and alcohol bottles everywhere. Evidence of a small fire where a lantern scorched a wall." Hardy grimaced at that as he put his own boots on over his shoes. 

"We're damn lucky the whole place didn't go up in flames," he growled. "This is unusual for Broadchurch."

"Yeah," Brian agreed. "You get the usual mischief, and some drugs, but this the worst I've seen it in ages."l

"I could see it happening in Sandbrook before here. But we did have the guy at the Traders looking for cocaine, so there you go. Anything else?"

Brian and Hardy entered the run-down house. Hardy looked around. There was no furniture to speak of, other than beach chairs. Mold stained the ceiling in one corner of the living room. "There's a bedroom over there. Mattress on the floor, some signs that a person had been squatting here," Brian told him. "There's a kitchen, a loo, and another room. Cellar downstairs you can access through the kitchen. Some of the kids went down there and out the cellar door. The guy in the nick started a fight upstairs and that's when some of the kids ran. Could have been when the girls ran."

"I'll want to see the cellar," Hardy said. "Also, keep an eye out for Andrea Bradley's phone. She might have lost it here, according to a girl who was at the party."

The rooms were a mess, and the SOCO officers were meticulously going though the living room, trying to find anything at all to tie to the girls. Hardy went to the cellar, which was illuminated by a single lightbulb. 

There was a brief scare when a large, old trunk was opened but all that was found in it was long abandoned bedclothes. There was no sign of the girls. It was a relief to all when the trunk was revealed to hold nothing of importance. 

He checked his watch and decided to head back to the arcade when a flurry of activity near the front walk caught his attention. "Found a phone," Brian yelled to Hardy. 

Hardy jogged over to the spot and he knew before the flash of bright pink he saw was fully revealed, that it was the phone. "Was under that bush," Brian explained. 

Brian was holding a pink and orange iPhone 5c in his gloved hands. The screen was cracked but it appeared otherwise unscathed. "It won't turn on, but maybe if we put a charge on it, and if we're lucky and it wasn't damaged too much by the cold we might be able to access the photos and texts."

Hardy looked grim. He knew it would be a long shot to have it work again. "Take it back to the station and see what can be done. I'm heading back to the arcade." He felt the beginning of a headache blooming behind his eyes. He quickly texted Ellie, "We found the phone. Get the passcode if you can. We'll need it if we can get it to work."

By the time he arrived at the arcade his phone was ringing. "Hardy," he said, out of habit.

Ellie got right to the point. "Elisabeth thinks the passcode is 9500, her birthdate. But Andrea's sister Brooke suspects she might have changed it a few weeks ago when she thought Elisabeth was checking up on her. "

"If we can even get it to work. Feels like we're grasping at straws," he growled, frustrated. "Any news?"

"About to search Andrea's room. Her sister thinks she might have a journal. Alec, the brother, Harry, knows of the boy in the picture. Says he's sold drugs to boys on his rugby team. Prescription drugs as far as Harry knows. He doesn't know the guy's name, and claims he hasn't bought anything from him. Jury's still out on that. Have you been to the arcade yet?"

Hardy swore under his breath at that news. "I'm at the arcade now. I'll have a name for us soon." He looked back at the road, where a rickety Ford Fiesta was pulling into the lot. "Think the manager...what's his name...is here."

He could picture her eye roll as she said, "Phil Brandt. Good thing you have me to remember these things. And just to let you know, I've met this bloke, and he might just have you beaten in the churlish department."

 

"I will get right back to you," he promised as he rang off. He looked across the car park to see the manager exit his car and stomp his way across the pavement, clearly peeved. 

******

Sheridan ushered Harry and Brooke into the room shortly thereafter and they began to search. They turned up a journal. Elisabeth asked Brooke if she knew where the key was kept. The look on Elisabeth's face told Brooke that she should not hesitate to produce the key if she knew where it was. 

Brooke pulled out the side table drawer and felt around on the bottom for the key she knew was taped there.

Andy liked to write. She had an entry for practically every day since she received the journal for her birthday the year prior. She talked about school and friends and teachers she didn't like. She wrote down her feelings with great drama, Ellie could see as she and Sheridan flipped through the book. Ellie thought they'd probably have to read more, to get a feel for Andy and what was going on in her life. But time was of the essence. "We'd better just focus on the days leading up to their disappearance," Ellie recommended.

The journal entry for the day before the girls disappeared didn't tell them the name of the boy in the picture, but it did tell of their intent to meet him at the party, and perhaps even leave with him (although this was more Angie's hope than hers, according to the entry.)

"I'm sticking to Angie like glue," Sheridan read aloud. "I think she's an idiot for meeting the wanker."

Elisabeth covered her eyes and shook her head. "She thought she was protecting Angela? Why, for God's sake, did she not tell me? Did either of you know?" She sank down onto Andrea's bed weakly. 

"Do you think we would have let her, Mum?" Harry said. 

She glared at her son. "I don't know what to believe," she snapped. Harry opened his mouth to protest but Brooke cut him off.

"Shut up. This is not getting us anywhere at all." 

Ellie said, "She's absolutely right. Now, I'm going to call DI Hardy and let him know. This man's a priority now."

******

It was cold, freezing cold. She opened her eyes, and immediately slammed them shut. The combination of the bright light and the piercing pain in her head made her stomach roll. She rolled to her side, curling into a ball. Her muscles were stiff and sore. She had no idea what time it was or how long she'd been....wherever she was. She took deep breaths trying to calm her stomach. 

Then a wave of panic hit. She remembered what she had been doing, and with whom she had come. She opened her eyes and sat up, immediately wishing she hadn't. "Angie," she rasped. Her voice was nearly gone. She looked around, panicked. She was in a very small bedroom. The bed took up most of the room. The heat obviously had been turned off, because she noticed she could see her breath. She listened for voices and heard none. She took a deep breath and shouted, and it hurt her sore throat. "Angie!" 

She crawled to the edge of the bed and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her knees nearly buckled as she stood. The bedroom door was opened, so no one was keeping her here. She took a step and stumbled a bit toward the narrow hallway. She grabbed the doorframe. 

Her head ached, her whole body aches and she just wanted to lie back down on the bed, but her foggy brain had a vague notion that she needed to keep on going, so she took a tentative step into the hall. There was something blocking the hall. 

She wasn't completely surprised that it was a body. It was a young man. He had a knife stuck in him. She screamed anyway, and stumbled backwards into the bedroom. 

Her legs buckled under finally and she hit the floor in a faint. Her last thought before she lost consciousness was "Where the hell is Angie?"

Andrea Bradley was alone.


	5. Detectives Club Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation continues.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They continue the investigation. I want to point out that I'm unbeta'd so any procedural mistakes are all mine.

Phil Brandt was in his late fifties, churlish as a matter of course, but he was royally pissed off to come in a few hours early to work. The fact that two young girls were missing was of no consequence. 

He was complaining about the police as well. "This have somethin' to do with that party Saturday? Were them girls at it? I had kids leavin' here to go to that then comin' back drunk. I was one of them calls in to the police, not that anybody cared."

Hardy made a mental note to check on the response time Saturday night, but he was determined not to get into a debate over police procedure. 

"Did you see these girls in the arcade Saturday night?" Hardy showed Brandt the school pictures. 

"I've seen them in before but I don't remember if I saw 'em Saturday at all. Good memory for faces, me. I know you. Been in with your family, ain't you? This place is a family establishment and I try my best to keep the unsavory elements out, you know."

Hardy gave him a curt nod, wondering if the person in the picture had tried to sell drugs there at the arcade, and tried to steer the conversation back to matters at hand. "So you didn't see the girls, as far as you know."

"Hell, I was busy covering for that tosser Dane, when he wandered out with fifteen minutes left in his shift. Didn't notice at all if they were there or they came back."

Hardy suddenly felt as through they might be on the verge of something. "Does this man still work here?" He showed Brandt his phone. Brandt looked hard at the picture and nodded.

"That's Dane Stone. Just told you he walked out before his shift ended. Far as I'm concerned, he don't have a job here any more. Didn't come in yesterday, either."

Hardy took a deep breath. Now things were getting interesting. He held Angela's school picture next to the phone picture. "Angela Bradley had this picture in her bedroom. Look at her again, have you seen her here talking to Stone?"

Brandt looked at it closely. "I do remember her with him. I remember one time, sayin' somethin' to Dane because she was flirtin', and he was flirtin' back. Told him to watch out, he could get in trouble with that kind of girl."

Hardy's eyebrow raised and he had to tamp down the fury that was beginning to boil beneath the surface. "What kind of girl would that be? She's fifteen. How old's he?"

"Nineteen, twenty." 

Hardy nodded, lips forming a tight line. "He didn't come into work yesterday?" he asked. 

"I said that, didn't I? You don't think he had somethin' to do with those girls, do ya? I don't want any trouble, it's a..."

"Family establishment, right. I need Stone's contact information, it's vitally important that we get in touch with him. If he knows where the girls are, or if they're with him, we need to know!" 

Brandt hesitated, and Hardy could almost see the wheels turning, knew the tosser was thinking about how it would impact him and his family establishment. As Brandt ruminated on his reputation, Hardy's phone rang. Hardy glanced at it and when he saw it was Ellie, he knew he'd have to take it. "Excuse me, it's one of my detectives," Hardy said as Brandt huffed. 

Ellie didn't waste a second. "The bloke in the picture is likely a drug dealer, according to Andrea's brother. And Angela was definitely planning on meeting him. We need a name, because Harry says he doesn't know it."

"I'm with Brandt now. He's identified the guy- name's Dane Stone. What's he deal?"

"According to what Harry knows of him, it's prescription drugs."

"Is her brother a customer?" Hardy glanced at Brandt, who looked impatient. 

"According to him, he's not. Alec, Angela went there specifically to meet him because she has a crush on him. Andrea wanted to protect her. A drug deal could have gone wrong, he could have taken the girls with him...."

"He hasn't been seen since Saturday night. Brandt had to cover his shifts."

Ellie's voice lowered. "Jesus, Alec."

"I know. I'll call you as soon as I know more here. I'm putting Sheridan and Graham together as soon as we can, they've worked with Narcotics before. You and I are focusing on the girls, they'll focus on the drug aspect. See if you can get any more out of Harry Bradley. He might be able to tell us more. I'll be in touch." He rang off with a sigh. Brandt was warily watching him. 

"Whatever Stone did, he ain't done it here," Brandt snapped.

Hardy was done with this insufferable idiot. "That remains to be seen," he growled. "We've reason to believe the girls are in danger, if they're even still alive. Think of it this way. It will be difficult to keep up appearances if it gets out that you were too concerned with protecting your damn family establishment to help those girls. I could get a search warrant but that would waste precious time. What's it gonna be?" Hardy's steely eyes bore into Brandt, who suddenly found it quite hard to maintain eye contact.

"I never said I wouldn't help, did I?" Brandt finally snarled as he unlocked the door. He gestured for Hardy to follow him into the dark, silent arcade. 

Hardy didn't know which pissed him off worse, the Brandt who professed indifference to the girls' plight or the one constantly commenting that he intended to help all along. Brandt slowly looked through his file cabinet. "Don't trust those bleedin' computers," he muttered. Hardy thought he might need to light a literal fire under the man, but Brandt finally produced the contact information. 

They had an address and cell number at last. As they were leaving the office, Hardy noticed a row of lockers down a dark hallway. "Are those employee lockers?"

"They are," Brandt answered. 

Naturally, Stone's locker was the only one with a padlock.

*****

Multiple calls were placed to the number provided on the job application, to no avail. 

SOCO was dispatched to the arcade, after Brandt called his attorney and decided it was best they just open the locker under the circumstances. His face remained an alarming red but he didn't protest.

Hardy and Graham were traveling to meet Ellie and Sheridan at the address listed for Stone when Brian called from the arcade. The lock was cut off and they found a small bag of prescription drugs at the bottom of the mess in his locker. It appeared to be a prescription for Adderall, with the name of a man who also listed the same address as Stone's. Even more interesting was the small bag of cocaine found in another strata of the mess. 

***

They banged on the door of Stone's flat for a few minutes before the door was thrown open by a tall, curly haired man. He was wearing pajama bottoms and looked rather confused and dismayed to see four coppers on his doorstep. 

The man, whose name was Jamey Clark, was just waking up from a late night out. He gave them a sour look when they asked about Stone. "Dane's my lodger. His cousin kicked him out of his caravan about a month ago, and I'm about to frickin' kick him out of here. He ain't paid up his rent, and I ain't seen him since Saturday night. What's he done?"

"We've reason to believe he's involved in the disappearance of the two girls...." Ellie began.

"What girls? Who's disappeared?" Clark interrupted. "I was asleep." 

"Two girls have gone missing, we think Stone is probably involved, and we don't have time for a recap. We got this address from the arcade, and also, the same address was found on a prescription bottle of Adderall in his locker at work," Hardy informed him.

Clark looked confused for a few seconds then his eyes widened. He mouthed, "Fuck..." 

"Excuse me?" Ellie asked.

"That's where it went. He is stealin' from me. I thought he was and I couldn't prove it. Shit. Pardon my language." 

Clark was all too eager to help then. He didn't recognize the girls but he recalled Stone sneering about a "couple of birds" at the arcade that wouldn't leave him alone. Sheridan and Graham found more drugs in Stone's room, which had a mattress on the floor and garbage and junk everywhere. It didn't yield much in the way of information on the girls but narcotics would have a field day. 

Hardy's frustration only grew. "We can't afford to be stuck in this holding pattern," he growled to Ellie as Sheridan and Graham searched. "I think Nige Carter's search party has a better shot at this point. We know where they've been. We know who they're with. And now we have three missing people, and no damn clue where to look next."

Ellie's didn't know what to say. She didn't want to try to placate him with shitty platitudes. She knew he'd accept that about as well as she would. "Do you know about any places Stone frequents?" Ellie asked Clark, grasping at straws.

"Name a pub between here and Weymouth," Clark said. "I thought he was an arse but kidnapping? You really think he has them? He wouldn't want somebody slowin' him down. He's too into self-preservation. He ain't got a car but always manages to get where he needs to go. Always manages to avoid scrapes."

Ellie and Alec exchanged a glance. "You know of anyone he would get a ride from? Or would let him borrow a car?" she asked. 

Clark considered her question. "Well, I don't have a car, so he can't steal one from me. His cousin has a car, but there's no way in hell he'd let him use it."

"We'll need to contact his cousin. Do you have his phone number?" Hardy asked. 

"Only met him twice. What's his name...Byers?....no that ain't it....Brierly. Adam Brierly. Lives at the caravan park." 

*****  
Graham and Sheridan stayed with Clark, who seemed to take the detectives' intrusion in stride. It was all part of associating with Stone, he reckoned. "Maybe the arsehole's luck's finally run out," he commented as Hardy and Ellie left.

Hardy contacted Jenkinson, letting her know that they had a person of interest and a strong feeling that the girls had been with him, and if they weren't with him now, he'd have knowledge of their whereabouts. Jenkinson was of the opinion that Hardy would need to make a statement to the press about it, which made him bristle. He wanted to stay out in the field. While Ellie drove to the caravan park, Hardy and Jenkinson crafted a short statement that she'd give to the press naming Dane Stone as a person of interest in the disappearances of Andrea and Angela. He was going over that on his phone as he texted the picture Ellie had on her phone. Finally, Hardy put down the phones, relieved that it was done. 

"Burton's trying to get an address for Brierly, " Hardy commented. "Until that comes we ask the neighbors which one it is."

"Why's it so damn hard to get an address? Bloody hell!" Ellie growled.

"'Cause the caravan's not registered in his name. He is probably renting it from someone else."

Ellie sighed. "Bloody hell," she swore again. "So are we keepin' the teenagers under lock and key after this? I shudder to think Tom would have had any dealings with this arse. Or that he'd be skulkin' around where Tom skates or plays football. Or that someone like that could turn Daisy's head."

"You know Daisy and her finely honed bullshit detector. Her head is not easily turned," he reminded Ellie.

Ellie chuckled. "You have a point."

"I won't say I'm not worried. You should have seen that house, El. We were lucky that the night ended without a major catastrophe. We'll warn the kids. And they won't be going to the arcade without supervision, that's for sure."

Ellie turned left, entering the caravan park. "Do you think we have any hope of finding the girls alive, Alec? Really?"

Hardy pulled his glasses off and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I honestly don't know, El. It looks bad. They've been gone awhile. So much time's been wasted already." He shrugged helplessly, his eyes downcast and that told Ellie what she needed to know.

She squeezed his forearm. "Well, I'm not giving up," she murmured.

"Never said I was," Alec grumbled.

"There we go, then. Her phone buzzed. "Anya's sent the address."

Of course, it was toward the back of the park. It took just a few minutes to walk back to Brierly's caravan, but already the cold seeped into their bones in that short amount of time. 

They saw movement behind a curtain the back, and a pale face peered out.

"Oh, God, Alec, it's Andy!" Ellie gasped. 

The freezing sea air stole the breath from their lungs but they ran to caravan. Hardy got there first, twisting the doorknob, but it wouldn't give. Ellie ran to the back window as Hardy pounded on the door.

She looked up at the confused face in the window and yelled, "Andy, can you open the door? We're here to help you!" Hardy glanced at Andy and grabbed his radio to call in.

Andy moved away from the window. She was painfully slow. She seemed to hear and comprehend Ellie's request but when time passed and the door didn't open Hardy grabbed a large rock from beside the caravan and smashed at the small window by the door until it broke and he could slide a hand in. He felt around for a door handle, cutting the side of his hand in the process. He barely felt it as he turned the lock. Hardy extracted his hand and threw open the door. 

The caravan was a mess of garbage but they were both drawn to the trail of blood on the floor. They were immobilized for only a second when they heard Andrea moan from the other room. 

"Bloody hell," Hardy commented as they came upon the body in the hall. He knelt down and Ellie squeezed around him to go into the bedroom. Andy hadn't made it off the bed.

Her face was deathly pale, and she was only semi-consious. "Andy, I'm Detective Ellie Collins and that's DI Hardy. We're getting you out of here. Stay with me, sweetie. Come on." She took off her jacket and wrapped Andy in it. "You're safe, come on, stay with me, Andy." Hardy joined her, the man in the hall beyond his help. 

"I called for the ambulance," he murmured. "That's not Stone back there." he informed Ellie. 

While Ellie worked to keep Andy responsive, Hardy scanned the room. He looked at the narrow space between the wall and the bed. There was no sign of Angela. 

As if reading Hardy's thought Andy gasped and forced her eyes open. "Angie," she breathed. She appeared to be concentrating intently, and with some difficulty she spoke again. "Did you find...Angie?"

Ellie glanced at Hardy. "No, honey," Ellie said, squeezing her hand. "Can you tell us anything? Do you remember. Do you know who the man in the hall is?"

"No..."Andy moaned. "With Dane....I guess......I passed out. He gave me something....I...don't know. Who's that bloke in there? He's dead?" She was getting more and more agitated. Her thoughts were jumbled. They heard the sirens approach. 

"Shhhh....shh, honey, it's okay. I can hear the sirens." Ellie soothed.

"Where is she?" Andy cried. She attempted to get up again. Ellie grabbed her hand. "I...need to... Go get Angela....." Each word was a struggle. 

Hardy spoke gently to her. "That's our job, we're looking for her. Look, help is here. We're going to warm you up and get you back to Mum," Hardy reassured her as the paramedics entered the caravan. Hardy hopped up to meet them. He felt torn, wanting to assist Ellie but also hoping to preserve as much of the crime scene as they could. 

The paramedics took over Andrea's care, starting an IV and placing an oxygen mask on her. Andrea wouldn't let go of Ellie's hand until she absolutely had to. Ellie walked with her until she was loaded into the ambulance. One of the medics, who looked familiar, handed Ellie her jacket. 

Neighbors gathered around the caravans, hawk eyes watching the unfolding drama. Someone recognized Ellie and called out. She ignored them, having much more important things to do. 

She called Elisabeth first, and spoke to her victim's assistance officer, making sure she knew the developments and would drive the family to the hospital. Then, she called Kellan at Nora's flat to inform him that Andrea had been found. Someone had to tell Nora before the media got wind of Andrea's rescue. 

Hardy appeared by her side, watching as SOCO arrived. She glanced at him. "Your hand," Ellie muttered. Hardy hadn't noticed the cut before Ellie mentioned it, but now it stung and was still slightly bleeding. Ellie fished through her purse and handed him a tissue. He would have found it humorous if the situation hadn't been so dire.

Hardy squeezed Ellie's hand, then jogged over to meet Brian and the other members of the SOCO team. 

Ellie's phone buzzed with a text from Olly, wanting confirmation that some activity at the caravan park had resulted in a rescue. The news had already traveled like wildfire. She pocketed the phone without answering and joined Hardy as he briefed SOCO.

*****

It was dark and cold when she first opened her eyes. She couldn't remember much- the alcohol and whatever he'd given her had scrambled her recollection of the previous hours. She couldn't tell what time it was or how long it had been. 

Gradually it came back to her where she was and how she'd gotten there. That Andy was alone, and it was all her fault. She started to panic, beginning to hyperventilate. She forced herself to breathe deeply. It was hard to settle down, and her brain was in a fog. "Get a grip," she admonished herself in a harsh and raspy whisper. She started to cough, and she did it as quietly as she could. She had no idea where she was, or if anyone was listening.

She took stock of her situation. She was cold. Her feet felt like ice. The left one tingled alarmingly. She was on her side, her face pressed into the carpet on the floor of the car boot. She rolled painfully onto her back and gave the boot lid a weak, tentative push. Locked.

It wasn't as if she expected to hop right out. She pushed again, this time with her feet and that didn't help. The car wasn't moving, she knew that much. Silent tears began to fall. Angela Bradley was alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, at least it wasn't a month between updates!

**Author's Note:**

> And so it begins. It's going to be a short mystery, covering the first full day back. I've gotten a lot of work done on the next chapter, but there's still a lot of editing to be done. Hopefully it will be up soon. Some of the tags may change as the story evolves. At this point I have decided not to use warnings, but that could change.


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